🔗 Share this article

This resistance may not be televised, but it could have webbed feet and large eyes.

Furthermore, it may involve a unicorn's horn or a chicken's feathers.

While protests against the government carry on in US cities, demonstrators have embraced the vibe of a neighborhood dress-up party. They've provided dance instruction, handed out treats, and ridden unicycles, while police watch.

Combining humour and political action – a strategy social scientists call "tactical frivolity" – is not new. However, it has emerged as a defining feature of US demonstrations in this period, embraced by both left and right.

One particular emblem has emerged as especially powerful – the frog. It started when recordings of a confrontation between a man in an inflatable frog and federal officers in the city of Portland, became an internet sensation. And it has since spread to demonstrations across the country.

"There's a lot at play with that humble blow-up amphibian," notes a professor, a professor at UC Davis and a Guggenheim Fellow who specialises in political performance.

The Path From the Pepe Meme to Portland

It's challenging to examine protests and frogs without addressing Pepe, a web comic frog adopted by online communities throughout a previous presidential campaign.

As this image gained popularity on the internet, people used it to express specific feelings. Afterwards, it was deployed to endorse a political figure, even a particular image endorsed by the candidate himself, depicting Pepe with recognizable attire and hairstyle.

The frog was also portrayed in right-wing online communities in darker contexts, as a hate group member. Participants traded "unique frog images" and established digital currency using its likeness. Its famous line, "that feels good", was deployed a shared phrase.

However Pepe didn't start out so controversial.

The artist behind it, the illustrator, has stated about his unhappiness for how the image has been used. The character was intended as simply a "chill frog-dude" in his comic world.

Pepe first appeared in comic strips in 2005 – non-political and best known for a quirky behavior. A film, which chronicles the creator's attempt to take back of his creation, he said his drawing was inspired by his life with friends and roommates.

When he began, Mr Furie experimented with sharing his art to early internet platforms, where the community began to borrow, remix and reinvent the frog. As Pepe spread into the more extreme corners of the internet, Mr Furie tried to disavow his creation, including ending its life in a final panel.

Yet the frog persisted.

"It shows that we don't control icons," states the professor. "Their meaning can evolve and be repurposed."

Until recently, the association of this meme resulted in frogs became a symbol for the right. But that changed in early October, when a confrontation between an activist dressed in an inflatable frog costume and a federal agent in Portland, Oregon went viral.

The moment came just days after an order to deploy military personnel to the city, which was called "war-ravaged". Protesters began to congregate outside a facility, near a federal building.

Tensions were high and a officer deployed irritant at a protester, targeting the air intake fan of the inflatable suit.

The individual, the man in the costume, reacted humorously, remarking he had tasted "something milder". However, the video spread everywhere.

The costume fit right in for the city, famous for its unconventional spirit and activist demonstrations that revel in the ridiculous – public yoga, retro fitness classes, and unique parades. A local saying is "Keep Portland Weird."

This symbol became part of in the ensuing legal battle between the federal government and Portland, which argued the use of troops overstepped authority.

While the court ruled in October that the president was within its rights to send personnel, a minority opinion disagreed, referencing in her ruling the protesters' "propensity for wearing chicken suits when expressing dissent."

"It is easy to see the majority's ruling, which adopts the government's characterization as a battlefield, as simply ridiculous," she wrote. "However, this ruling goes beyond absurdity."

The order was halted by courts just a month later, and troops withdrew from the city.

But by then, the frog was now a potent protest icon for progressive movements.

The inflatable suit was spotted nationwide at No Kings protests last autumn. Amphibian costumes were present – along with other creatures – in San Diego and Atlanta and Boston. They appeared in small towns and global metropolises abroad.

This item was in high demand on major websites, and saw its cost increase.

Mastering the Optics

What brings both frogs together – lies in the relationship between the humorous, benign cartoon and underlying political significance. This is what "tactical frivolity."

The strategy is based on what the professor terms the "irresistible image" – frequently absurd, it acts as a "appealing and non-threatening" performance that highlights a message without needing obviously explaining them. This is the silly outfit used, or the symbol you share.

The professor is both an expert on this topic and a veteran practitioner. He's written a book called 'Tactical Performance', and taught workshops internationally.

"One can look back to the Middle Ages – when people are dominated, absurd humor is used to speak the truth indirectly and while maintaining a layer of protection."

The theory of such tactics is three-fold, Mr Bogad explains.

As protesters take on a powerful opposition, a silly costume {takes control of|seizes|influences